Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

It is our last afternoon in Kruger and had rested a bit after a great morning drive from Letaba to Satara.

It was time for an afternoon drive and we were doing a circle route via the H7 -> S40 ->S127 ->H1-4 back to camp.

Just outside the Satara camp on the H7, we spotted two lions in the long grass under a bush. It was the first lion sighting our friends from Cape Town enjoyed after just started their trip a few days ago. They were so excited about this sighting that I thought they need something to calm them down . This is the sighting they were so excited about.

We drove up the S40 and spotted a few ellies and general game around, then did a quick check-in at Ratelpan hide, but it was quiet. Then on the S127, there were a bit of activity with this elephant chasing the buffalo away from a waterhole.

Further up the road a herd of wildebeest with little ones on their side.

At the intersection with the H1-7 tar road we spotted something in a distance and then turned onto the tar road. Another car came from behind and stopped next to us and asked us if we had seen the lion coming out of the bush on to the road just next to us and we said 'No'. We were all looking towards the horizon and here the lion was literally under our nose . Having said this, and disappointed as we drove a few meters on, we spotted some more lions, could see 2, close to us in the field, so some consolation for the error we just had made. Now my friends are truly happy with an even better view of the kings of the wild.

And so our afternoon drive had ended with a great sighting - some lions and our friends were ecstatic. I originally wanted to do the afternoon and last evening in one posting, but the evening event was for me so special that I thought it deserves to be posted separately. Once you see what we had spotted, you will understand, so the next one coming up, another first for me and we could not have asked for a better last night surprise... coming up next .

Now, I must go to bed, because I had the honour of getting up at 05h30 tomorrow morning and taking two dear friends of mine to Cape Town airport as they are on their way to Kruger for 11 days .

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

It is our last evening in Kruger and enjoying a wonderful evening, so it was fitting to end our trip with a braai.

While we were busy with the braai (barbeque), our friend spotted something in the dark moving between the bungalow and the fence. I went to get my camera with flash and at the time I got back, it was gone. I was a bit disappointed. We looked around and then after a while, there it was...a Large-spotted genet a few meters from us. He was relatively relaxed and managed to use the opportunity to get a few pics. I was so excited to have spotted our first genet in 4 trips right here close to us....

I was hoping to spot the honey badger that was also around in the camp, but no success that evening.

(At this note , it is fitting to share with you that about 2 months ago, we got 2 kittens - one black and one that got the same spots and colours as the genet (Muskeljaatkat), so called her 'Muski'.)

Another exciting day in Kruger came to an end, but the next morning we were driving from Satara to exit the Park at Numbi gate, giving us at least a half a day still in the Park before heading towards Pretoria to visit some friends.

Next coming up, some sightings on our exit trip from Satara to Numbi gate....

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

It was our last day in the park after 16 great days and the day of our exit which we are doing from Satara via Numbi gate, so a nice drive with potential of some great sightings. We left Satara early morning and fortunately did not had the scare of petrol strike we have had in Dec'11 where we had just made it to the town of Malelane.

We took the H1-3 tar road and stopped at most of the waterholes and dams alongside the road. At Leeupan, it was fairly quite, despite some visitors along the road told us there is a leopard in a tree at the entrance, but when we arrived there, no cars and no leopard as we searched every bush and tree with 4 sets of eyes scanning the area. I guess those people were having us on. Nevertheless we stopped at Leeuan and spotted some White-faced ducks.

At the Sandriver bridge or was it the Sabie river bridge, a herd of buffalo was relaxing and sleeping in the water. It was quite an interesting sighting.

On a more sombre note, SO spotted this dead monitor on the side of the road on the bridge. We were not sure how it got killed, though. It was so ironic that one of the first things we saw when entering the park was a monitor 'giving us the heads up' (refer page 1 of this TR) and now that we are exiting, one of the last this dead one.

As I had forgotten to get my stamp for my Kruger passport at Nkhulu picnic spot, we did a detour to obtain the stamp. On our way there we stopped so this Ground agama could pass first. I must add that the area had become extremely busy traffic wise.

On our way back, we stopped at a very busy Skukuza for brunch. The one last thing we wanted to do was to pay a quick visit to Lake Panic,which we did. Grey heron building a nest and some Greater-striped swallows entertained us at a relatively quite Lake Panic.

It was difficult to get going, but time was catching up as we had to be in Pretoria at a certain time. We travelled the S1 road hoping to get a last glimpse of some wild dogs we had the privilege of seeing when we stayed at Skukuza at the beginning, but they had other plans that day. All worth while spotting was this Brown snake eagle, as we hit the S3 towards Pretoriuskop.

The view towards Pretoriuskop from the S3.

After stopping at Pretoriushop, we hit the H1-1 towards Numbi gate....which brings us to the time where we exited the park.

....and so a most memorable 16 days from the south-to-north-and-back trip had came to an end.

But before we end off this TR, it will be fitting to share some rhino sightings as they have been omitted because I did not want to disclose their locations....so coming up next, some rhinos...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

Due to the rhino sensitivity issue, I had decided not to make mention of any sightings during the TR. At the beginning of the TR, I had shared my head-to-head encounter with a black rhino in Addo, and every time we spotted a rhino, every one in the car became nervous, so we stayed clear of them.

During our trip, we had 5 sightings totalling about 12 rhinos of which one was a baby. Here are a few pictures:Our first rhino sighting:

The next day we had seen 5 rhinos together of which one was a little.

A couple of days later we had another sighting where two were together,

We had some further sightings with some in the bush, hence not posting them.

A story worth sharing was in Dec'11 when it was the last morning of our trip and we did our exit drive towards the south. We took one of the gravel roads hoping to spot other scarce animals when we approached a sharp bent in the road and guess who did we found sleeping on that bent?...a rhino family. The problem we had was the petrol was running low fast and with the petrol strike at the time, driving all the way back was not an option. So we waited patiently and eventually they realised we were there and then moved off a bit. We took our chance and could negotiate our way around them, but is was a hair raising and challenging one. They were very calm and glad they were not scared off by our presence.

....and so a TR which turnout to be a 'BUM'-per one, had come to an end, hence fitting to close off with this pic we took 2 years ago.

On this note I want to thank everyone that commented and the kind words as well as everyone that were just reading it. I had a lot of fun doing my first TR and it will not be the last - lookout for Wildernis - Tsitsikamma TR following the June holidays....

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

Riaanf31,

All our camps booked, deposit paid, flight fares paid - just car hire still to be decided on i.e. Toyota Avanza or Nissan X-trail...this time I will manage the Car hire agency to ensure I get what I booked unlike last year when I booked Nissan X-Trail and got Kia Sportage...This is a great car, do not get me wrong, but for photography from the driver's seat you have problems as one are limited by the way the windows are shaped that hampers one.

But first we are off in 3 weeks time to Wildernis and Tsitsikamma for 10 days from 14 - 30 June. I am planning a TR for this one coming up, but considering starting one now already as a prelude with excerps from previous trips.

Riaanf31 wrote:

Please regale us with more KNP tales.....

I had in mind to share some tales from the 2011 trip also up north and down to the south, but was not sure if I must do it. I guess you have inspired me to continue, so will start sharing some additional experiences and sightings tonight...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

This TR covered mainly our trip of Dec'12, but we also did one in Dec'11 starting from Phalaborwa gate up to Punda Maria, then down to Satara and exiting Phabeni gate in the south. It was our first visit to the north, which we thoroughly enjoyed resulting in coming back Dec'12 to share it with my in-laws. We started the Dec'11 trip off with two friends that accompanied us half of the trip with them going south and us to the north.

The interesting part is that our first night was booked at Sable hide, so we travelled from OR Tambo via Dullstroom, Lydenburg to Phalaborwa where we did some shopping first. As we were too early to get settled in at Sable hide, we did a drive via S131 - H14 and back to the gate where we got the necessary keys, bedding and mosquito nets.

On our drive, we had some good sightings of which the first one were some Southern ground hornbills. At the Ngwenyeni waterhole on the S131, a herd of ellies were busy enjoying some water. One of the big guys were relatively friendly, but 'toothless/tuskless'.

At the intersection with the H14, 3 young hyenas were resting on the side of the road.

The H14 takes one past some koppies where we got a nice klipspringer sighting close to the H9.

These webs always draws one's attention...

Arriving back at the gate, it was important to get some food for the night and as it was very overcast and not sure of rain, we decided to get some Kentucky. It was also a full moon evening, but with the clouds in air we did not see the moon. Nevertheless, we had waited so long for this time that we wanted to enjoy every moment and action it might present itself.

Next time, I will share some experiences of the night at Sable hide...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

We picked up our bedding bags with mosquito nets and keys a hour before gate closing at Phalaborwa gate. The staff there were really very friendly .There is fence around the hide with enough space for more than 2 cars to park ...

The toilet is about 20 meters from the hide itself and got a tank of water that gets refilled. One needs a key to get to the toilets and at night it is extremely dark, so important to remember one's torch or lamp, but this all adds up to the experience, not so...

There is a large fire place where a whole group can enjoy a braai.

The inside of the hide is great with beds that flip down from the walls. The mosquito nets hang from the roof which assist with keeping mozzies out. We sprayed ourselves with mozzie repellent which helped a lot.

As mentioned before, it was an overcast evening whilst full moon. We could not see the moon, but got this beautiful view as the sun went down.

It was relatively quiet at the dam, but could clearly hear the night sounds. Just before 12h00, we saw lights of cars approaching and then they stopped at parking area allocated for day visitors. Some people got out looking towards the bushes.We were extremely worried as these were not vehicles from SANParks, nor were the people dressed as rangers. So, we decided to rather keep a low profile. Unfortunately we could not get the registration numbers of the 2 bakkies. After about a half an hour, they left. We did report the incident to SANParks.

Later the night we were entertained by a visitor that provided some music with their croaking sound..

After a long day, up very early catching a plane from Cape Town, we managed to fell asleep. Early morning we heard some noise - some lions roaring. It sounded as it they were very close and thought they were just behind the dam. It was beautiful to hear the roaring sounds so close and at night where sound travels further than normal. We were up again, but as it was very dark, we could not see anything. Later we heard something moving through the grass and eventually spotted the impala.

The morning arrived and it was time for us to get up and clean up the hide before the first visitors arrive. On our way out, we had some good birds sightings to be shared in the next posting.

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

The next morning we drove around the Sable dam and although general game was absent, we spotted some great birdies.

First the Marabou...

A White-backed vulture was circling in the air.

Some Egyptian gees enjoying some water...

Then a Fish eagle caught our eye..as it landed and sat on a tree closeby.

We did a drive around the koppie to see if we can spot the lions, that roared during the night, and the resident leopard, but no success. We took the tar road towards the Phalaborwa gate to return the key and beddingbags when we notice at one of the smaller waterholes next to the road this Grey-headed kingfisher catching some small fish. It was a great sighting as it was the first for me to spot this type of kingfisher.

Close to the Phalaborwa gate, this leopard tortoise was making his way across the road. One could see that a light drizzle had fallen the previous night whilst we were enjoying the hide sleepover.

From the Phalaborwa gate we went north to visit Mopani camp where we enjoyed a great time as it was a first time for to stay at Mopani. Coming up next time...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

From the Sable dam we headed north towards Mopani for 2 nights (our first visit to the camp) via the H14 and also did the S48 Tsendze loop where we were entertained by this elephant at one of the waterpools. We took a series of him enjoying himself - first spray some muddy water, then shaking its head and flapping the ears.

On our way to Mpoani we got some more great birdies.

Saddle-billed stork

Secretary bird

And then the Woodland kingfisher

The afternoon we settled in at our cottage overlooking the Pioneer dam - what magnificent view...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

Mooiplaas was visited a few times during Dec'11 in the 2 days we stayed at Mopani and every time were presented with different animals on the open plains and the waterhole/dam.

Firstly, a pair of Secretary birds were visiting the waterhole together with a flock of Egyptian geese. In Dec'12 we also had some great Secretary birds sighting here, so it seems to be the place to be if you are looking for these allusive birds.

On another time, these ellies came down for a drink at the dam and enjoyed themselves.

The one morning, we had this great lion sighting - a pair - seems like brothers parading the open space. It was a real special sighting for us.

Later the afternoon, some Tsetsebes were grazing near the dam with their young

So, Mooiplaas was really kind towards us as it presented us with some wonderful moments - definitely a place worth visiting - you never know what surprises you with get...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

On our way to the Tropic of Capricorn on the H1-6 we heard a loud roaring and a rumbling in the bushes. We recognised it to be elephants, but could not see them But we were really puzzled with the roaring noise just like that of lions and we thought it was perhaps a confrontation between the two. Then we saw a large ellie came out to the road and extremely unsettled with what had happened in the bush, then another one as both turned towards where the noise was coming from. This went on for quite some time and we got really worried and anxious as to what really was going on in the bush. It slowly became quiet and saw some ellies moving off in the direction of the river. The next day when were sitting at Olifants camp, we also saw herds of elephants meeting and a similar roaring noise and it was then that we realised that the roar was that of the ellies not lions.

Here is the one big foot moving onto the road who was clearly very unsettled.

We arrived at the Tihongonyeni waterhole, some ellies were enjoying a mud bath.

During late afternoon trip we got these ellies trying to get some water from the dam.

On the plains there were wildebeest and lots of zebra.

How can one not take note of the birdies around...first up this couple of loving doves

A Crowned lapwing also made its presence felt.

Then this Grey heron was looking around for something worthwhile to eat.

The next day we went south to enjoy the magnificent views over the Olifants river at Olifants camp...coming up next.

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

...back from our mid year Garden Route break...busy planning a TR, but need to sort out the pics first.

We'll back to Kruger...we left Mopani with our 2 friends after done the Sable hide sleepover and a first for us at Mopani for 2 nights. We were heading towards Olifants camp via the S44 river road and got some interesting views. First up these glossy ibis in the Letaba river and then these beautiful water lilies.

We had a very unusual experience with hundreds elephants coming from all over to the Letaba river and moving in the direction of the Letaba camp. At one stage we got so nervous as there were elephants approaching from the front, the side and the back coming out of the thick bushes moving towards the river. Fortunately, we managed to get out of their way fast, but it was truly a most unusual sight.

Some Zebra with Red-billed oxpeckers.

A beautiful pose by a Waterbuck.

Then one of my most treasured moments - giraffe at the Von Wiellighs baobab. The interesting thing was that the giraffe could have eaten from all the trees which were more in reach, but they must have acquired a liking to baobab leaves.

Before we booked it at Olifants camp for 2 nights, we stopped at the Letaba and Olifants river confluence look out point. Some pics to follow with next posting...

Award: Small Parks Promoter of the Year & Sighting of the Year - Small Creatures and Insects (2013)Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pmPosts: 3300Location: Bellville, Cape TownFAC Member (2014)

Before we booked in at Olifants camp, we stopped at the lookout point where one can see the confluence of the Letaba and Olifants rivers.This is the view where the two rivers become one in a eastern direction.

This view is looking west up the Olifants river.

...but right below us, these guys were enjoying themselves and the one welcomed us with a 'smile'.

We managed to get the one unit (FQ4U1) with arguably the best view of the Olifants river from the stoep.

Some elephants came down to the river as well as the waterbuck.

Love this elephant close to the baobab on the western side of the camp.

Then some visitors to the unit...

During our stay here at Olifants camp, we enjoyed some great sightings. To be continue....

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